


(Over)Protective

by RaineyDay



Series: Febuwhump 2021 [11]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Everyone Loves Angus McDonald, Gen, Hurt Angus McDonald
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:48:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29418165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaineyDay/pseuds/RaineyDay
Summary: Febuwhump day 13: hiding injuryAngus refuses to be treated like an incompetent child. Sometimes, he makes bad decisions in trying to attain that.
Relationships: Angus McDonald & Everyone, IPRE Crew | Starblaster Crew & Angus McDonald
Series: Febuwhump 2021 [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138502
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21
Collections: febuwhump 2021





	(Over)Protective

**Author's Note:**

> I do a very small hit on the boy. (also, re: title, I don't think this is overprotective per se, but Angus does, so yeah.
> 
> Also, to anyone who may also read Nesting, I will not be updating today. I thought I could keep up my regular update schedule and Febuwhump, but that is so much writing, you guys. Hopefully, I will have a new Nesting chapter by next Saturday though! And I'm still continuing with Febuwhump in the meantime.

Angus was really glad that Miss Lucretia had offered to still keep him employed at the Bureau after the Day of Story and Song. He knew that the circumstances of his hiring were unusual. Now that the Bureau was no longer a secret and their work, while still important, wasn't world-saving, he had worried that he would no longer be allowed to work with them.

But Miss Lucretia had asked if he'd like to, and they'd all talked about it as a family, trying to agree over rules and guidelines to keep Angus safe while still allowing him to do what he loved doing.

Angus thought it was really sweet that the Birds all cared so much about his safety, even though he'd been solving cases completely on his own long before he'd ever met them.

He did have to admit that it was nice to know that he had people to call on if he needed help. He was very good at his job, but he was still a little boy, and the world wasn't made for him to navigate. Sometimes his nature as a kid helped his work- people didn't pay as much attention to what they said around a little boy- but sometimes he ran into problems that older detectives wouldn't.

On this assignment, he was working with another Bureau member, but not one that he'd met before, and a few local guard detectives. The Bureau member was very respectful, despite Angus' age, but the guards were less so. That was how it had always been when Angus worked with guards who didn't know him though, so he wasn't all that surprised, even if was disappointing.

But he'd done this before, with the Rockport guards, and the Neverwinter guards, and his fellow Seekers, until even the ones who hadn't met him knew him by reputation enough to treat him like a peer, and so, he knew what to do.

It could be annoying to _have_ to act like an adult to be taken seriously. He was mature for his age, but it was better when a little immaturity wouldn't result in people doubting his skills. It was especially annoying to do so when actual adults didn't have to act mature to be treated with respect. Gods know the Birds (all except for Miss Lucretia and Captain Davenport, and even they had their moments) didn't have to act that way to be treated like they deserved.

These thoughts passed quickly through Angus' head as the other Bureau member - he really should learn their name, they were so nice, he ought to ask Miss Lucretia later- caught him as he finally collapsed from his injuries.

He started to explain this line of reasoning, but the other Seeker just shushed him, which was frustrating.

At his frown, they chuckled. "Look, I'm not shushing you because you're a kid, okay? I'd be shushing anyone who tried to justify hiding injuries from their coworkers until they collapsed, regardless of age or anything else."

"That's okay then, I guess," Angus said. His head was _spinning._ He'd felt off and bad for a while, but he hadn't realized that he was in genuine danger of collapsing. Usually, he was better at figuring out how severe an injury was before it got to this point, and he was kicking himself for not paying better attention. Misjudging his own injuries, thereby forcing himself and another person to delay their work to help him wasn't the kind of thing that convinced people that he knew what he was doing.

There was a familiar sound of a rip in space opening up, and Angus turned his head slowly in the direction it came from, seeing Miss Lup bringing Mister Merle and Miss Lucretia in.

Merle headed right to Angus' side, and said something, probably gruff and insulting and fond all at the same time, but Angus was a little too out of it to pay attention.

Angus felt a wash of healing magic pass over him and came back to himself a little.

"-ey, kid? Wakey, wakey," Merle's voice finally started getting clear at that, and Angus met his eyes and opened his own wide to show that he was awake. Merle chuckled, but seemed reassured.

Miss Lucretia and Miss Lup were coming closer now too, and Lucretia stopped by the side of the other Bureau member as she passed them, setting one hand gratefully on their shoulder.

"Thank you for contacting me, Maya," she said.

So that was how they'd known to come. Angus had been wondering. He'd thought he'd get healing from one of the guard's medics, or one of the Bureau's official clerics, not Merle, though he had been grateful to see the dwarf anyway.

"Of course, Madame Director Lucretia," Maya said. "I'll check back in with guards now that Angus is in safe hands."

As she left, Maya waved cheerfully back at them, and offered a quick, "Get better soon, Angus!"

So at least she still had _some_ respect for him.

Another rip opened, and this time it was Mister Kravitz and Taako stepping through.

Both came over to him quickly, though only Taako dropped down next to him, Kravitz hanging back a little with Lucretia and Lup, though 'hanging back' was a pretty relative term considering how close those three still were.

More healing spells, and Angus started to feel well enough to try to sit up, though Merle and Taako both immediately stopped him with their hands and everyone else did the same but with their words.

Angus let himself be laid back down in the face of all that, despite the blush that threatened to rise up at their overprotectiveness.

Another rip and Mister Barry, Captain Davenport and Magnus were there. Angus tried not to groan. This was embarrassing enough, had they really _all_ had to come?

Apparently, despite not making a sound, his displeasure was still apparent, as proven when Taako flicked him in the nose and gave him an exasperated look.

"Seeker whatever says you didn't bother to tell them what was up when you got hurt, boychik. What's that about?" he asked.

"Not a baby," Angus mumbled, still a little out of it. He didn't want to explain, because it would sound stupid. They understood anyway, because they were family and they knew him.

"Ango, buddy, nobody's gonna think you're a baby for getting hurt," Mangus said, plopping down next to Taako beside him. "I get hurt all the time!"

"That's different!" Angus said. "You can keep going when you get hurt. You don't have to slow everyone down."

"Little dude, you realize that collapsing like this slows people down a lot more than taking a quick break to rest and heal, right?" Lup said.

"Obviously! But this doesn't happen every time. Usually I'm better at this. But it would waste way more time to tell somebody _every single time_ I got hurt on a case."

That was met with a slight pause.

"You hide injuries often, then?" Davenport asked, frowning in a way that let Angus know that he had Messed Up in admitting that.

"Lucy? You still got all the kid's after-mission check-ins?" Merle called. "Oh, what am I thinking, 'course you do. Can ya get 'em and bring 'em to the house so we can look back and see what dumb shit he's been doing?"

"Absolutely," Lucretia nodded. "Uh, for legal reasons, though, I do gotta get Taako to sign off on releasing them."

"For sure, homie," Taako agreed, nodding quickly, dashing any of Angus' hopes that they wouldn't be ridiculous about all of this.

"You don't have to do that!" Angus argued anyway. "I'm not stupid, I can take care of myself!"

"If that's true, the records will confirm it," Lucretia said, in a blend of her 'disapproving Director' voice and her 'family member being stupid (fear)' voice, that left Angus feeling very small, yet loved.

Mostly small though. They were treating him like a child. It was embarrassing.

"We're only doing this to keep you safe, Angus," Kravitz said, eyes all genuine and concerned. "We love you."

"That's okay then, I guess," Angus grumbled, even if he still thought this was all a little much. "Can I go home now? The ground isn't my favorite place to lay."

Magnus scooped him up immediately, getting a giggle out of Angus, and Barry ripped them a portal back, with everyone following except Lucretia and Lup, the latter of whom ripped a different portal to the moon so Lucretia could the records.

Angus didn't let it worry him too much though, as Magnus plopped him on the couch and he and Barry started to pile Angus with pillows and blankets while Taako banged around in the kitchen making comfort food.

Lup and Lucretia were back before too long, and both fussed over him as much as the others and it was kind of awkward but also really nice at the same time.

Angus really enjoyed having a family, even- no, _especially_ \- one as ridiculous as this one.


End file.
